Variations on a theme
Last night I went to bed early (10:30ish) and unfortunately woke up for a few hours around 2. My brain played the usual games; seeing stuff when I closed my eyes and sleep paralysis. But I managed to get back to sleep! This morning’s dreams were all about grandparents and being late to work .
Number one: My maternal grandfather gives me a ride to a new job in an office building in a part of town that I was unaccustomed to and my cousin Lauren tags along for some reason. That’s odd because she’s maybe 16 and we don’t see much of each other. Whatever. Dream. Yes, also this part of town that the office is in, doesn’t exist. So we leave and drive 7 or 8 miles to this place but it seems like it’s farther because on the way I see fields of dust and sparse grasses I don’t recognize. It was pretty, sunny day with fluffy white clouds , which is unusual for my dreams. (Most of the dream take place in the dark or at dusk.) When we get there I’m not sure which building is which because they’re all in a complex of office buildings. So I pick one and we go in and from the inside I got the sense that the building is a lot bigger than it seemed from the outside. There are a million little offices and more cubicles than that arranged in such a way to maximize the space. That left very little room to walk. The narrow halls were lit with nasty dim fluorescent lights in panels on the low ceilings. The walls and flooring were vaguely dirty matte yellow, like they’d been beige originally and time and human breath had changed the color. The ambiance was pretty depressing. I was running out of time before I had to meet my new boss in my new office and I was extremely confused about the layout of the floors so I ran around for several minutes trying to follow the signs and asking people for directions. In the process of panicking, I got separated from Lauren and my grandfather and decided to give up and go outside, hoping they will eventually come outside. While I was inside all those pretty clouds had turned dark and heavy and a minute after I got outside it started pouring. A security guard or doorman pulled out an umbrella and offered it to me and we ran together into an awning at the front of the building. At this point I noticed that the front of the building looked more like a hotel than an office building and I woke up to my name being called.
Number two: In this dream I was temporarily (?) staying with my paternal grandparents and my father. One of my uncles was also there. I awoke on a couch early in the morning when it was still very dark and cold. But as usual, it was hot in the house and everyone was already up except my grandfather. My dad, grandmother and uncle sat around the kitchen table eating breakfast and arguing about something (as usual). I took a shower in the bathroom which had the old pink and white verticle stripes on the wall that were there maybe 7 years ago. I vaguely remember getting dressed; a swirl of fabric aound my head while I was putting on a shirt? I appeared in the kitchen and said I needed a ride to work. My uncle asked when I had to be there. The digital clock on the counter read 8:33. Then 8:05. Then 8:45. So I was like “Shit! I’m gonna be late. I thought it was much earlier that it is.” So my dad takes a map out and highlights a route the the office building. A long street parallel to the one we would take was called “Alexander Grated Parkway” and farther out its name changed to “Alchemy Drive.” I recognized the the street as the one I have passed in a lot of dreams where there is a sewer system with an open creek. I got into my dad’s car and I woke up.
